The HCD Connect platform and the microgrant program are designed to catalyze new best practices to help ensure that people using human-centered design to tackle poverty-related challenges around the world are receiving direct input on their solutions. The HCD Connect website and funding for these Microgrants is made possible thanks to a grant from the Agricultural Development group at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. For this reason, the second cycle of Microgrants will again focus on projects using human-centered design towards agriculture-related projects.

In light of successes from the first round of Microgrants, this second cycle will be even more method focused. You can find more information in the HCD Toolkit HERE and you may brainstorm which methods will be most applicable to your project!

The methods include various forms of:

H: Hear – Determine who to talk to, how to gather stories, and how to document your observations

C: Create – Generate opportunities and solutions that are applicable to the whole community

D: Deliver – Take your top solutions, make them better, and move them toward implementation

GRANTS

The judging panel will be made up of social sector, agriculture, and design experts well-versed in the power of human-centered design. The judges will award HCD Connect Microgrants in the following two categories:

$5,000 Planning Grant: planning grants are for individuals or organizations initiating the human-centered design process as part of a particular project and requiring funding to conduct HCD “hear” or “create” research.

$10,000 Implementation Grant: implementation grants are designed for individuals or organizations that have experienced the human-centered design process and need funding to pilot or implement their project solutions.

ELIGIBILITY

The microgrants are available to any country in the world where people are working on projects that meet the following three criteria:

The project must be related to agricultural development.

The project must have drawn from, or be planning to employ, the methods and approaches of human-centered design.

Someone from the project team must create a story on HCD Connect detailing the project or proposed project. In general, grant-making preference will be given to active participants on the HCD Connect platform.

APPLICATION

Applications are due before 15 July 2013 11:59PM PST. Please submit your completed application form AVAILABLE HERE to microgrants@iDEo.org. They will consider the information provided in this application as well as your participation on the HCD Connect platform as part of our selection criteria.

Questions or problems? Please e-mail microgrants@iDEo.org. For more information and to see projects done by previous recipients of the microgrants, see the official website HERE.